Colorado Avalanche: 5 Late Rounders who Might have NHL Careers

The Colorado Avalanche, like all NHL teams, do their research before making draft selections. That means even late rounders have a shot at making pro careers.

Colorado Avalanche late-round draft picks are going to have a hard time making it to the NHL. The NHL is the best hockey league in the world.

And it’s incredibly difficult to even get a shot at playing in that league. According to ESPN, only about 5% of players in the major juniors or college hockey make it to the NHL. Now, naturally, that percentage goes up when you get drafted.

When you get drafted in the first round, you’re far more likely to get a shot — ThoughtCo puts their odds at 63% chance of making a career (at least 200 games) in the NHL. Second rounders have about a 25% chance of making the NHL. Drafted lower than the second round — odds are at 12%.

Scouts do their homework, and they advise teams to only select players who have a legitimate chance of actually cracking an NHL roster. However, roughly 200 players are selected every year. And an NHL roster only has space for 23 players with up to 50 signed to a contract.

Late rounders don’t have a huge opportunity. However, their chances are exponentially better than players who didn’t get drafted.

I wrote an article previously about some Avalanche late-round draft picks who went on to have successful NHL careers:

For purposes of this post, let’s consider players drafted in the fifth round or later. And we’ll look at players both who have their entry-level contracts and do not. And I’ll consider players who have a chance to even crack the roster, much less play 200 games.

I will not talk about fifth-rounder Anton Lindholm, though, because he’s already played 60 NHL games with the Avalanche.

So, let’s look at these five players who might crack the Avs roster and make it into the big time.

Travis Barron

Position: Left wing
Year drafted: 2016
Round picked: 7th round, 191st overall
Age: 20

The Colorado Avalanche selected left wing Travis Barron in the seventh round, 191st overall, in 2016. The 20-year old signed his professional contract this season just in time to help the ECHL Colorado Eagles win the Kelly Cup — he played in all 20 games.

Prior to that, Barron was playing for his major juniors team, the Ottawa 67s, captaining them for the last two seasons. Travis isn’t known for being a prolific scorer. Rather, he’s a tough hitter with leadership qualities.

I’d say his chance of making the NHL relies on his ability to add some finer skills to his repertoire and to improve his skating. He could make a respectable career as a fourth-liner. He’s all set to help lead the rookies in the Rookie Faceoff and at Rookie Camp starting this week.

Denis Smirnov

Position: Left wing
Year drafted: 2017
Round picked: 6th round, 156th overall
Age: 21

The Colorado Avalanche chose Denis Smirnov as an overage draft pick in the 2017 NHL Draft — he was already 20 years old at the time. He’d also already spent a year at Penn State University, recording 47 points (19 goals, 28 assists) in 39 games his freshman year. He returned to college last season, though a late slump lead to lower points — 27 points (15 goals, 12 assists) in 30 games.

Smirnov displays flashes of the kind of elite skills Colorado prizes — he can deke and dangle, and he’s got skating chops. He’s also known for having good ice vision.

Smirnov attended the Prospect Development Camp, but his NCAA duties mean he won’t be attending the Rookie Faceoff or the Rookie Camp. He has two more college years to hone his skills enough to win a professional contract.

Brandon Saigeon

Position: Center
Year drafted: 2018
Round picked: 5th round, 140th overall
Age: 20

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Center Brandon Saigeon is another example of an overage draft pick the Colorado Avalanche decided to take a chance on later in the draft. He’s entering his fourth year in major juniors with the Hamilton Bulldogs — last year he wore the A as an alternate captain.

Last season was also Saigeon’s best year in major juniors by far. He earned 70 points (35 goals, 35 assists) in 70 games. He then helped his Bulldongs win the J. Ross Robertson Cup, earning an impressive 25 points (18 goals, 7 assists) in 21 playoff games.

Last season’s performance is likely why the Avs decided to take a flyer on the center.

While Saigeon is technically scheduled to return to the OHL and his Bulldogs, he’s also on the roster for the Rookie Faceoff. I’d say this is a big tournament for him. It will help set the stage for his Rookie Camp and preseason games. He could earn his entry-level contract out of camp.

Nikolai Kovalenko

Position: Right wing
Year drafted: 2018
Round picked: 6th round, 171st overall
Age: 18

The Colorado Avalanche used their sixth round draft pick this year to choose Nikolai Kovalenko. The young right wing has the finer skills you expect from Russian players — he moves the puck well and is a good skater.

Kovalenko has been playing with the Loko Yaroslavl of the KHL’s minor league, the MHL. He earned 31 points (10 goals, 21 assists) in 33 games last season. He did play two KHL games last year.

The young Kovalenko is a long shot. He made it to Colorado for the Prospect Development Camp at the end of June, but he’s not on the roster for the Rookie Faceoff. Indeed, he’s signed an extension with the KHL Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.

However, I’m pulling for Kovalenko because he once faced Slava Voynov in a fight:

Ok, he got beaten. But I support anyone who even is willing to give Voynov a

taste of his own medicine

.

Also, Nikolai is the son of Andrei Kovalenko, who spent three years with the Quebec Nordiques before playing 26 games for the Colorado Avalanche. He then made his biggest contribution to the team — he was part of the Patrick Roy trade.

There is no guarantee even one of the players on this list will get any NHL ice time outside of preseason — and so far, that’s only a possibility for Travis Barron. However, the first step to an NHL career is getting drafted by an NHL team — and the Colorado Avalanche took a chance on all these guys for a reason.